2015.51.1 Honoré Daumier, The Socialist Women, No. 10: Strange, my wife has been away at the banquet a long time... it has been forty-eight hours since she left!

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

After the French monarch Louis-Philippe lost power, women began to organize so-called banquets, which were in fact political rallies. Here, a father slouches in a chair, head in hand, as he laments that his wife has been away at a banquet for many hours. Meanwhile, he seems oblivious to his young child, who has commandeered his top hat and cane. Published in Le Charivari on June 9, 1849, it is one of fourteen prints from the series The Socialist Women. This series, along with two others (The Bluestockings and Ladies for the Right of Divorce), expresses Daumier’s opposition to the feminist movement, which fought for women’s suffrage and general equality—interests that resonate today. By depicting gender inequality without seriously engaging in the women’s movement, Daumier reveals that, although he was progressive politically, like most men of his time he was not completely broad-minded or inclusive when it came to women.

Excerpt from

Martha MacLeod, DMA label copy, 2016.

NOTES

Created 1849

Checked Piction

Inscription: At top center: Les Femmes Socialistes At upper right: 10 In stone at lower right: 1132 In stone at lower left: h.D. At lower left: Chez Aubert, Pl. de la Bource At lower right: Imp. Aubert & Cie At bottom center: Ma Femme reste bien longtemps a ce banquet…voilà bientôt/quarante huit heures qu’ell est partie!

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Daumier, Honoré (French, 1808-1879)

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National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC~Read a biography of Daumier from the NGA.

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General Description

After the French monarch Louis-Philippe lost power, women began to organize so-called banquets, which were in fact political rallies. Here, a father slouches in a chair, head in hand, as he laments that his wife has been away at a banquet for many hours. Meanwhile, he seems oblivious to his young child, who has commandeered his top hat and cane. Published in Le Charivari on June 9, 1849, it is one of fourteen prints from the series The Socialist Women. This series, along with two others (The Bluestockings and Ladies for the Right of Divorce), expresses Daumier’s opposition to the feminist movement, which fought for women’s suffrage and general equality—interests that resonate today. By depicting gender inequality without seriously engaging in the women’s movement, Daumier reveals that, although he was progressive politically, like most men of his time he was not completely broad-minded or inclusive when it came to women.